


SK0 Club-A commentary on Fics and Fears by ASP Characters

by Ficmog



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fiction comments on fiction, Metafiction, Multi, Ravage disapproves of fictional scar-face, Tactile Sexual Interfacing, Vehicon reactions, family gathering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 07:44:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ficmog/pseuds/Ficmog
Summary: Soundwave and family come across an interesting piece of literature, that just so happens to concern their resident yellow bot. Good opportunity for a bedtime story, erm I mean crew behaviour analysis.





	SK0 Club-A commentary on Fics and Fears by ASP Characters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [12drakon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/12drakon/gifts).



> This is something that's dragged me out of my worry-hole at last. It's the result of a gift turned beta me and 12drakon planned for some time, and recently got completed, despite the lack of motivation for fic I've had this year (unfortunate after trying to pep talk myself last December). May or may not be multi-chapter, I need to work out if I have the stomach for that.
> 
> 12's story Fics and Fears is one I enjoy a lot, particularly for its self awareness and fourth-wall elements done in a unique style. I wanted to do something to show my appreciation, so one day I thought "Why not make a crossover thing?". Hence we now have this: An in-universe reading of fanfiction by fictional characters of a story where characters read fanfiction made by a fictional character in-universe. It'll... make more sense when read I hope.
> 
> Thanks for coaxing me out of my shell 12! I Hope you and the rest of the audience enjoy. My fanfic life might not be dead just yet.

"So, the Autobots still haven't finished preparing?"

"It seems not," Soundwave responded to Laserbeak. "I imagine there is more to resolve on their end than ours, since they need to sever ties with the human military in North America. Such a process would be initiated early, so I doubt it will take much longer."

Laserbeak looked with concern at the data pad Soundwave was holding, noting the date. "I hope so. We only have two more cycles until departure."

A ruffle was heard from the other side of the berth, followed by Ravage moving towards them. "Well, that's what they get for interacting with the natives: extra politics." He sat next to Laserbeak on the edge. "Humans do make good entertainment though, I'll admit. Especially music."

"Have you decided to take some mementos, kitten?" Laserbeak asked in a knowing tone.

"Haven't we already? Soundwave made a copy of all data on their Internet when we arrived. Set to constant update!" The symbionts shared a moment of laughter, Soundwave looking on and smiling.

He left the data pad in his lap, optics turning to gaze upon a familiar yellow frame in recharge behind the three of them. "That was quite a large energon batch to sort this cycle. Bumblebee was exhausted when I came to collect him." Soundwave rested a servo on the sleeping mech’s calf, lightly stroking it.

"You had to carry him over your shoulder," Ravage recalled; "When he came in he scrambled over there and started recharging almost instantly."

Laserbeak eyed the unconscious Bee affectionately. "Let's hope he gets a good defrag after all that. I'm sure I'd want to in his position."

Soundwave left Bumblebee to rest and took hold of his data pad again. He sifted through the Nemesis network in search of a curious file that appeared earlier in the cycle, tracking it to a small net space used by the SK0 regiment of Vehicons. "This is the regiment you two are acquainted with. I am aware of their writing club; they appear to have posted a new story."

"I thought they were up to something!" Ravage cheered, though he stopped at seeing Soundwave's focused face. "You're concerned because it's about Bumblebee? I'm sure Skovich and his squad wouldn't make anything intentionally malevolent towards him."

His creator nodded. "Yes, I do not doubt their integrity. But judging from the tags provided, this is among their more somber range of works. Not something to be showing Bumblebee in his current condition."

"May we see those tags?" Laserbeak interjected. He perched on Soundwave's shoulder and began appraising, Ravage climbing up to look as well. "Hmm, it's predicated as an ethically dubious story with explicit interfacing scenes, some non-consensual. A sizeable amount of kinks are involved as well, along with... fourth wall breaking?"

Ravage hummed in amusement. "They're trying something new then. I'd guess that's where the title 'Fics and Fears' stems from." He turned his face up to Soundwave, brandishing an encouraging smile. "Alright, there are some things here that might be problematic, but we should at least give it a read before anything else! Those Vehicons put a lot of effort and care into this."

Stroking his head, Soundwave looked over the file once again. "And that effort seems to be paying off considering the growing comments and favourites. Very well, I believe it may be worth a read. Would you each like to join me?" Ravage got comfortable in his lap, Laserbeak dropping down to sit beside him. Soundwave held the data pad in view of them all, opening the Fics and Fears file to view the contents.

"A bit Less immersive than some of their other works," Laserbeak commented; "It only comes in textual format. Perhaps they're waiting for our feedback before producing audio or video?"

"Wise of them." Soundwave remarked. He scrolled down, noting the short length of the first chapter, then returned to the top and began reading with his minicons.

|Chapter 1: My Little Scout|

|They dropped him again, and Bumblebee screamed into the rushing wind. He hated the sound his vocalizer produced, like a mechanimal keen; hated that he could not stop screaming. He knew that he would not die yet, that they would catch him to ask once more about the coordinates.|

Laserbeak scoffed. "Ah, well that certainly didn't take long. Torture was in the tags, but I wasn't expecting we'd be thrust into it immediately." His two roommates continued reading concernedly.

|A heavy chain tied to Bumblebee’s knee clanged as he thrashed, and the disk-like device at its end added a few more dents to his armor.|

"Chain to the knee..." Soundwave pondered. "I know this technique. It was often employed by seekers against grounders in the war, taking advantage of their fear of heights and lack of protection against strong winds. The victim was dropped as far down as possible and then violently dragged back up, causing great pain and sickness. Our Vehicon friends have clearly done their research for this scene, unpleasant as it is."

Ravage stared at the screen with narrowed optics. "Look who's hosting the party, too. Starscream's never been averse to interrogating people, but he doesn't show this much 'enthusiasm' in real life. All smug and getting in Bee's face like that; I'd claw his if I was there. And all this for some coordinates? Just hack the poor thing or use a cortical patch!" He began laughing at his own words; Ravage really became engrossed in these stories.

"Few besides ourselves and Shockwave are skilled enough, plus we weren't always available to gather intel from prisoners. These 'methods' were commonly resorted to when alternatives were lacking, however inefficient. Neither the victim nor the torturers come out of it undamaged."

|Two breems, his chrono said. Two breems more to make sure. Then the Autobots would finish evacuating their temporary base to a new location; he didn’t know where; and then this should be over, one way or another.|

Exchanging thoughtful glances with Ravage, Laserbeak craned his neck and stretched in a brief pause. "Well, this first section is written impressively; lets readers know exactly what they're getting into. If this is what we start with, things will only get more outrageous further on."

"Look who's making an entrance here," Ravage observed while glancing ahead; "Right at the "Stop". Everyone's favourite gladiator, though I don't think he'll be showing much goodwill."

|Bumblebee onlined his optics and, with effort, quit emitting a feeble beep-whirr. Whimpering, that’s what it was, and he’d only just noticed he’d been making the sound. He’d failed to notice the new arrival, too. The two Seekers above him froze as if turned off, like the well-schooled drones they were, and stopped slowly pulling his knees apart by the chains.|

Laserbeak’s EM field rippled solemnly. "Still very descriptive even in the aftermath; limbs and components near to breaking, bleeding energon all over. Atrocious treatment. At least the writers show it for what it is. You can tell they'd never approve this in reality." Ravage stroked him comfortingly with his tail, while Soundwave remained focused on the text.

|“Megatron!” Starscream screeched, then added, “My lord,” in the tone of a curse, and stomped his foot in frustration. “He was about to talk!”|

"No he wasn't!" Ravage protested with enthusiasm. "Should really know better than to outright lie in front of Megatron like that... Wait, there's scraplets?" He continued reading, intrigued optics glaring at the description of Bumblebee's side mirror having been thrown into a scraplet filled jar. "Starscream is seriously unhinged to keep some of those creatures. You'd think that a fear of being crippled by them would occur to him as well. Poor Bee, having to endure such a scare tactic."

Soundwave sighed in bemusement. "Rather foolish of the air commander I must say. If any accidents occur involving those scraplets, Starscream will most likely take all the blame and be severely punished. But we have digressed here, as Bumblebee reminds us in his thoughts. Continuing further..."

|Megatron walked to Bumblebee and put his massive hand on scout’s thigh, sending jolts of pain through that knee and hip. Bumblebee winced, or the parts he could move did - useless parts, like his cuffed hands and his door wings that Arcee liked to call ‘expressive’.|

"On the thigh? That's not a good sign," commented Laserbeak. "About the doorwings, though... I wonder if they fold while he recharges like our Bumblebee?" 

"It would be difficult to find a comfortable position otherwise," Soundwave huffed.

|“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Megatron drawled, stroking his hand a little way up and down Bumblebee’s plating, his palm so large it had almost nowhere to go on the thigh. “Optimus Prime just called. The Autobots have moved. The scout wouldn’t know where.”|

A frown formed on Ravage's face in tune with Megatron's behaviour.

|Bumblebee froze, alarm fighting relief. He’d done it, he’d held out long enough. Now what? Did Optimus try to negotiate for him? If the ‘Cons weren’t interrogating him anymore, why weren’t they letting him down already?|

"Because Megatron has some 'entertainment' in mind." Laserbeak predicted with a harsh chirp, his words vindicated when Megatron smacked Bumblebee's exposed interface panel.

|His voice effortlessly louder than the scout’s beep-whimper, Megatron said, “You have failed to get information in time, Starscream. But you have quite… a setup, here. Everybody is dismissed, except you two with the chains. And you two: don’t move, stay quiet.”|

Ravage growled at the screen, loud and sudden. "Kitten?" Laserbeak asked, though he was fairly certain of his thoughts.

The jaguar rapidly changed his demeanour and sent a smile Laserbeak’s way. "I'm fine," he assured. "Just playing along with the story, acting like I was there."

He received a placated chuckle. "Your usual approach then. Always fun to watch you read stories." They each proceeded, taking in the scene of Megatron brandishing his wrist blade as he approached the suspended prisoner.

|He tried to brace himself. He couldn’t - he beeped again, then babbled hopelessly, a random permutation of a few short Neocybex words in urgent binary trills, ::No-no-no-stop-stop-wait-no-wait-wait-stop…::  
He talked, but he wasn’t begging, he wasn’t! Protesting wasn’t begging, right?|

"There is little difference in such a position." Soundwave answered somberly. His optics were coldly fixed on the story as it unfolded, expression neutral even as the locks of Bumblebee's panel were cut open and he was placed across Megatron's knee.

|“I know what you want, scout,” Megatron whispered into Bumblebee’s audio, and stroked his cheek with one claw, the knife still extended over that hand into the darkening sky.|

His biolights dimmed for a moment. "Or perhaps you are simply assuming the desires of your victim, as many abusers do."

"We doubt your powers of perception, my 'liege'." Laserbeak added with a sinister humour.

|Megatron whispered, “The cortical patch, scout. I’ve been there in your processor. That file you watch and edit every night before you recharge? I made a copy.”|

A contemplative hum could be heard from Ravage, the feline rubbing his back with his tail. "Ah, It seems they've created some past events for this story. Maybe this is where the fourth wall component comes into play?"

The aforementioned file was acted out by Megatron, the text describing it in detail. Bumblebee's creativity in constructing it was made vivid to the readers in his thoughts, as was his horror at being forced to experience the scene in such a disgraceful and mocking fashion. 

They read without comment until Bee began recalling the origins of the erotic file.

"So it was a result of the Tyger Pax incident..." Soundwave turned away from the screen to look at the recharging, non-fictional Bumblebee behind him. "In reality he has no proper memory of that time, only fragments. Forgetfulness is one coping mechanism for such traumatic events, but they are often engraved into the mind instead and need to be dealt with in other ways. Quite clever of SK0 to seize upon that point so uniquely."

"Look here," Laserbeak pointed. "Just after he describes the initial effects."

|The recurrent nightmares were replaced by scenes also featuring Megatron, so shocking they overrode fears, worries, and every other feeling; so hot Bumblebee instantly overloaded, then fell into blissful deep recharge for a whole planetary cycle.|

Ravage purred, baring a sly grin at the imagery being presented. "Using interface fantasies to drive away fears... an effective way to cope, if approached well." He perused deeper, noting Bumblebee's initial repulsion at his actions. "Only natural considering the frightening content of the fantasies, but I'm glad he gets accustomed to them eventually. Aww, and look how he collects them all together and improves them!"

|It never hurt anyone or the Autobot cause, he’d kept telling himself. He still hated Megatron by day. And he’d never shared these ‘harmless fantasies’ with anyone. Until now.|

"Good thing he recognises the difference between his dream Megatron and the real person; Bumblebee can maintain a realistic outlook and still keep the fantasies as tools to help him recharge. The way he handles the whole issue isn't as healthy as I'd like, but he manages well enough overall. It's as much as you can expect without any proper guidance available." The Jaguar ceased his analysis there, predicting that Soundwave was about to speak. He relaxed himself and shot an encouraging look upward.

His creator gave a mild chuckle and stroked him to return the affection. "Unfortunately Megatron knows about his file now, thanks to whatever cortical patch event happened in the story's past. He will no doubt use it against Bumblebee throughout his incarceration, in both subtle and unsubtle ways. It is already having its intended effect."

|“We’ll fast-forward to the good parts, shall we?” Megatron said with a chuckle, and opened Bumblebee’s interface panel, broken locks unresisting. “You are smoking hot, my little scout!” he quoted from the file.|

"Tsk," Laserbeak chided, optical slit narrowed. "And here he goes treating the personal story like an arena speech, exaggerating and being as unnecessarily mocking as possible. A complement to Bee's impending violation so greater anguish can be inflicted."

|The harsh lights on the deck left nothing to the imagination. Bumblebee saw condensation vapor rising from the edges of his valve, and from the housing of his retracted spike.  
If only Bumblebee could offline; if only he had convinced Ratchet to install that self-termination code from spec ops mechs!|

Ravage adopted a grim expression. "Arousal does not imply enjoyment, it's a physical reaction occurring regardless of desire to interface. Bumblebee's revulsion here should make that point obvious."

|Of course he would understand the scout wanted none of what his character in the file wanted. And yet, and yet - Bumblebee had made it all up, and came back for more every night, and worked out such details!  
He sobbed. Maybe he deserved this.|

"This is not your doing..." Soundwave held his frame still; his EM hums vanished, and the minicons couldn't even hear his vents.. "Regardless of whether Megatron knows, or his perception is simply warped, the file was never intended to be acted out in this way. He is the only person at fault here, for corrupting the file's purpose." He relaxed his joints and proceeded with the scene, looking unimpressed as Bumblebee's valve was abused in exact accordance with his story.

|Megatron’s grin grew; he pressed and tapped the node in a sequence that worked the best, that Bumblebee had perfected over many nights when his hands weren’t tied. That nobody was supposed to know until he met a lover.|

"Oh dear." Laserbeak exclaimed nonchalantly.

A disapproving snarl emanated from Ravage as he examined the paragraph, Megatron's stimulation unrelenting and becoming painful for his victim. "Raping people ain't nice, Scar-face." he scolded, but then found himself grinning at his sentence. He stored the phrase in his memory core under #wordsofwisdom, much to Soundwave and Laserbeak's amusement when they noticed through their bond.

The climax was unsurprising to the three readers but no less unsettling. Megatron's refusal to stop had Ravage continue his immersive snarling, while Laserbeak winced at Bumblebee's desperate attempts to escape. When the scout was eventually forced into an overload, Soundwave shook his head in disappointment at his fictional leader's conduct.

|His processor didn’t reboot, but his consciousness disconnected from the world, as if he was dreaming, the dream’s file isolated on a stand-alone server. The server’s firewalls kept out all the data about his frame, other mechs, their factions, and their wars. He was in the light, and all were one.|

They each allowed themselves a moment in the aftermath, Laserbeak brushing up against Ravage. "It's over, but I don't feel very relieved. This is why we need people like you, kitten." 

The feline hummed in gratitude, nuzzling his partner comfortingly. "I try my best to educate. I couldn't set up an official practice with the war going on, so it's good many of the crew here are willing to listen regardless."

"Unlike these soldiers," Soundwave pointed out, noting how one of the seekers, after wrenching Bumblebee out of his trance, referred to his violation jovially as 'hot'. "Considering the near-oblivious stances taken by all offending parties, they and the remaining Decepticons may not have any proper interface education at all."

"Ignorance often does result in harm," Ravage responded; "It doesn't excuse what's happened here, but there'll be better ways to rectify everyone's behaviour if that does end up the case. Anyway, let's continue. The chapter's almost finished."

|“Seekers - let him down,” Megatron ordered gruffly, and Bumblebee fell to the deck head first - with a thud, a clang of chains, and a burst of static for a cry. He wished he could fall through the floor, all the way to the rocks far below.|

Soundwave's optics narrowed sadly. "Suicide is no answer. But I understand why you would feel otherwise."

"You're speaking to both Bumblebees." Laserbeak noticed.

|The Seekers transformed into root form and stood at attention. Megatron carelessly gathered Bumblebee and the chains into a heap of hurt, and said, “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable, shall we, scout?”  
Bumblebee thought he would not be comfortable anywhere. Ever again.|

Ravage frowned. "We can only imagine what plans he has, but I predict they'll involve a lot of coercion and propaganda. Even when ignorant many people still recognise interfacing as a sensitive topic. Megatron might think of Bee's erotic fiction as a useful tool, for bolstering his campaign and coercing the remaining Autobots to his wishes."

"That would fit the characterisation here. If real Megatron saw this he'd laugh for cycles on end." Laserbeak briefly envisioned the scenario with his partner, the two smirking vividly. They finished reading the closing paragraphs, where Megatron abruptly shot the seeker who had spoken earlier.

|“Your order was to stay quiet,” he said belatedly, then kept walking.  
Before falling into stasis lock, Bumblebee’s muddled processor supplied him with one last incongruous thought: that Megatron couldn’t tell the Seekers apart and had shot the wrong one.|

The atmosphere of the room was calm as Soundwave turned away from the screen. "This is... well written, for what it is. SK0 have treated the content seriously, as it should be, and their disapproval of it is apparent. I am still uncertain what verdict to give though."

"Then maybe we should read the comments?" Ravage suggested; "There's been quite a few already since it was posted. You should be able to gauge the crew's disposition to Bumblebee and the story from them." Soundwave nodded in agreement, picking up the data pad once again and opening the file's comment section.

Comments on chapter 1

ST-R0M: Ouch! Wow, great story guys, and pretty dark here. Definitely favouriting this. Assuming it gets approved by our comms chief, I look forward to reading more!

RA-V8D: BAD TOUCH!!! :( Get him away from our poor Bee! Damn Seekers and Megatron, we should rig a space bridge to cross universes and mount an assault!  
Reply from SK0-VLA: Haha, nice mix of aggro and caring in your comment. What part of 'no fragging without permission' don't these cons understand, eh? Thanks for reading, we really appreciate it :)  
RA-V8D: This makes me want to go and hug that cute little mech all night. If I was offlined as a result it would be totally worth it.

Soundwave smiled, amused. "We wouldn't kill you for it. It might do Bumblebee good to receive affection from more people."

X1V-KI: Not nice for Bumblebee, or anyone in retrospect. You do a good job highlighting how badly prisoners of war are often treated - I'm glad all that's over now in our world.  
Reply from SK0-ZUN: Yeah, so are we. It's adorable and funny how he's considered a pet instead. Commander Soundwave and his minicons are so lucky. I want a pet 'Bot too!

"Very friendly and mature feedback so far," Laserbeak noted happily; "I wonder if any officers have found the story yet?"

"Down here!" Ravage exclaimed. "It's Knock-Out!"

Knock-Out: Just went to my recharge chamber after a long cycle of operating and found this odd thing on the net. Mostly a good read, not pleasant, but that seems the point. Just one gripe though: HOW DARE THESE PEOPLE RUIN SUCH A SUBLIME PAINT-JOB! Overall, 8/10 so far. Well done, though I wouldn't show this to Bumblebee himself. Be careful around our resident net admin too. He's very protective of people he likes.  
Reply from SK0-BE5Z: Thank you, officer Knock-Out. We don't intend this to be shown to Bumblebee in his current condition, and we're aware that administration may not approve it. We await feedback from them before doing anything else with the story.  
Knock-Out: Just 'Knock-Out' online, please. Save the titles for your club supervisor Starscream and his precious insecurities. I'm showing this to Breakdown later, should get a few fun reactions out of him.

"Knock-Out is Knock-Out as usual," huffed Laserbeak; "Good to know he likes the story. I think it might go viral at this rate; there's over sixty comment threads already."

Ravage sighed. "Ah, bittersweet. Can't read them all tonight then. But maybe just a few more..." His roommates were happy to oblige him.

DU6-RE: NOOOO! This is too cruel, turning a coping mechanism against him like that! I wouldn't wish this on anyone!

YA-4UR: This'll have all the higher-ups talking if it stays on the net. Best prepare myself to see FAF and related tags everywhere, it certainly deserves the attention :)

ST-3V3: To think that this might have been possible in the war... You people and your stories are a gift to us all. We'd lose ourselves were it not for mind-opening literature like this.  
Reply from SK0-V1CH: Thank you so much, from me and all my squad. You've touched precisely upon our intentions in writing this; we wanted to show how badly people can treat one another in war, the extent of what can be 'justified'. Having Bumblebee as the protagonist highlights that point considering most onboard like him and also, what's been done with him. We hope people will come to appreciate peaceful conflict resolution more from reading the story. If it's taken down for potential harm we would understand, but it's intended to do the opposite.

Soundwave grinned, frame enveloped in a gentle warmth from his EM field indicating his satisfaction. His symbionts noticed, but before they reacted he pulled them both to his chest and hugged them. "You two... I'm so happy to have experienced this."

They looked up at him in delight, reciprocating his joy. "Knew you'd come round!" Ravage cried out happily. "Glad you're reasonable enough to give people a chance."

"Between our reactions and the comments we just read, this story seems very good at bringing people together," muttered Laserbeak with a sanguine trill. "Your verdict then, sir?"

Soundwave's confidence and sincerity was clear as he replied. "SK0's latest story may remain online, to be enjoyed by all of the crew. I approve it in textual format, but as a cautionary measure I will restrict use of video and audio until Bumblebee has made more progress in his recovery. Is that acceptable?" The minicons nodded, and Soundwave placed them back on his lap. "I will send my feedback to the Vehicons next cycle. Until then -"

The mechs heard a ruffle behind them. They turned; a yellow frame with dim cerulean optics came from under the blankets. "What? Did you... say something?" Bumblebee drawled, tired and still needing recharge.

"Ah, we've woken him up," acknowledged Laserbeak, apologetic.

Soundwave's frame warmed up once more as he fixed Bumblebee with a compassionate look. The minicons had only a nanon to move out of his lap and take the data pad to a safe place before he descended on the mech, holding him in an impregnable cuddle.

"Ahaha, w-why are you acting like this Soundwave?" Bumblebee laughed softly, trapped against the much larger frame and pleasantly bewildered by the nuzzles and strokes he was receiving. The symbionts quickly joining in only added to his confusion.

"Because you deserve it," the dark mech whispered lovingly to him, kissing his forehead.

He wasn't sure what he meant, but Bee accepted the affection nonetheless and relaxed into the embrace.

The minicons hugged his back and neck contently, in silent agreement with their creator. "We just want you to know we're here for you," Ravage said. "Now let's get you back to rest; you obviously haven't recharged enough yet, and we need to start doing so too."

Bumblebee complied and shut off his optics, awaiting further recharge with his new company, while Soundwave looked across the room and processed the time he'd just spent. Knowing SK0's intentions made their story a great joy and comfort to him, and highlighted how beneficial Bumblebee's presence onboard was turning out. It would be a disservice to take their work down when it was bringing so many of the crew together. He focused on his 'pet' once more, settling down with him and the symbionts for the night. Moments like this were what he lived and fought for; to see them manifesting at last... he had no words, but the feeling was unmistakable.


End file.
